Benevolence
by dwhp50
Summary: He had blood on his hands, so much blood. Blood they shared. Blood, she hoped, some day they could atone for. Harmony is a gifted girl who was kept by HYDRA as a way to control the Winter Soldier. But when everything falls to pieces and they escape, the two will have to navigate freedom and their shared, scarred past together. Rating may change in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya there! So I've been wanting to write a Captain America story for a while, especially with Bucky since I absolutely love his character and I finally got something together. So here it is! I really hope you enjoy it and please review to let me know what you think! But please, no flames, just constructive criticism please. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything Captain America :(**

Confusion. It swirled around him, flaring up and then quieting just as quickly as he worked through whatever thoughts were drifting their way through his complicated, scrambled mind. Then, pain. It was mixed with the confusion, flashing here and there, though this was quite normal. If there was one thing his tortured mind was used to, it was pain.

And fear. It rang around his head, a horrible, wretched noise that reminded her vaguely of nails on a chalk board. This was a rare emotion for him. The Winter Soldier wasn't supposed to feel fear.

She shifted in her chair, struggling against her straight jacket like restraints and she tried to block it out. But it was so hard. She was so in tune with his mind after all these years and he was so loud. So very loud.

Then suddenly, like a bomb, there was nothing but wild, raging anger. She gasped when it went off, overwhelmed and choking on it. She vaguely heard a thump, followed by yelling and the mechanical shifting of guns being raised and when her mind cleared she noticed the two agents that had been working on his arm were no longer next to him, though their tools were scattered around his chair. She blinked a couple more times, trying to clear her mind of his own and found that one was unconscious on the ground several feet away and the other was struggling to get up and out of the room. Away, he wanted nothing more than to get away from the dreaded Winter Soldier.

If she cared anything for the two rather large agents that were now advancing on him, she would have warned them away, but she rather enjoyed it when they too felt the wrath of his harsh metal hand. She rather hated the first one he knocked out, remembering the lust and need that rolled off him every time he saw her and the other she didn't know… but he was HYDRA, so to hell with him too.

"Calm him, now." One of the agents, a man called Michaels, growled into her ear. She gave a grunt of annoyance when he jerked her up by her restraints and forced her forward, making her walk in front of him like some kind of human shield. While his fear was quiet next to the storm raging in the man before her, she still felt it. What a coward.

When she was close enough, Michaels gave a harsh shove before he immediately lifted his large gun and pointed it straight at the Winter Soldier. He whipped around, his blue eyes wild and his body coiled to strike but when he caught sight of her, he stilled and she felt another flare of confusion and pain.

He wanted to fight, wanted to cause as much pain as he was in, but she was familiar. He knew her. He always knew her.

His eyes closed as more pain flared and he grabbed his head. "I know. I know, Sarge." She whispered, using her nickname for him. She hated the term Winter Soldier. It was their name for him, not hers. She reached out slowly, gently letting the calm emotions wash over him and ease all his intense, horrible emotions. She hated that it worked, hated that those feelings were muted and diminished.

He deserved to feel them. He deserved to rage against the monsters that kept him here, that hurt him. He deserved so much more than this.

He slid back into the chair, his flesh and metal hands clenching as he stared ahead. His rage was slowly ebbing away now, leaving behind nothing but that confusion, pain and fear. She stepped closer to him now, wishing she could reach out at brush his long, ratty hair away from his face as he slumped forward into the chair. But instead she began to take away those other emotions, but she didn't get far before a hand came to rest on her shoulder and pulled her away from him slowly.

"That will do, Harmony."

Alexander Peirce pushed her away and into Rumlow, looking tall and imposing in his neat grey suit and all business as he caught sight of the man in the middle of the room. Rumlow looked down at Harmony, giving her a predatory grin as she flinched away from him and yanked herself away. When she was far enough away from him she concentrated again on the two men in the middle of the room, hoping Peirce wasn't too harsh on him.

"Mission report."

Sarge stared straight ahead, not seeming to hear Peirce at all. She felt a flare of irritation spark from Peirce, but he took a deep breath and pushed it down.

"Mission report. Now." He repeated, again to nothing but a blank face.

Peirce grew irritated again and he stepped forward, leaning down close to give his usually compliant weapon a cold stare. Suddenly, his hand whipped out and with a harsh crack, he smacked the assassin across the face. Sarge didn't even seem to feel or register it and when he lifted his head to finally looked over at Peirce, his handsome face scrunching in confusion. "The man on the bridge… who was he?"

Harmony and many of the other men were surprised by the question. He wasn't often one for talking and certainly not for questioning. Peirce though, was only annoyed by the question, though his face betrayed no emotions as he studied Sarge for a moment before answering. "You met him earlier this week on another mission."

He looked away from Peirce, his eyes and mind far away. "I knew him."

The declaration was slightly unsure. This was no surprise after all of the years of abuse and torture that his mind had suffered. He couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

He looked so lost, so utterly confused that it broke her heart. She wasn't sure who this 'mission' had been or if Sarge had really knew him but it certainly was causing the most feelings in him that she had felt from him in years.

Peirce slowly pulled the chair previously occupied by the agents that were working on Sarge's arm closer, seating himself and watched him very carefully. He wasn't… nervous per say, but she felt a sort of jittery feeling surround Peirce. Perhaps, he was fearing that his deadly weapon was malfunctioning again and at such an important time too…

"Your work has been a gift to mankind." Peirce said, his voice steady and even with his twisted belief. It took everything Harmony had not to roll her eyes at his words. "You have shaped the century. And I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. And tomorrow morning you're going to give it a push. But if you don't do your part, I can't do mine. And HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

He stared at Peirce, so confused and torn. She wanted to comfort him, soothe him but she knew it would only make things worse.

"But I knew him." He sighed, giving Peirce the most heartbreaking smile. This time he was more sure, his voice unwavering. She could even feel the confidence behind the statement this time. Whatever he had remembered, he was sure of it. This made her terribly happy and sad at the same time. And after the feeling of great annoyance from Peirce, it made her fearful as well.

He slowly stood, dusting off his pants before turning toward Harmony. She felt fear and anger bubble up in her stomach, knowing what that look meant. "Wipe him. Completely start him over."

"He… he doesn't need-" She started, but Peirce walked forward, silencing her with a cold, dark stare.

"Wipe him, or we will." Peirce whispered and Harmony flinched back from him.

She would do it. What she did was horrible and she hated herself for it, but listening to his screams were ten times worse. So she gave a reluctant nod, hating Peirce's vile smile before he nodded toward her two guards. The other stepped away from her, leaving enough space so that they wouldn't have a chance to be touched if she decided to go rouge and her two guards stepped forward. They both wore gloves and had the bare minimum of skin exposed and were extremely careful as they slowly undid her restraints. The tall, less talkative one that gave Harmony the chills because of how little emotions she ever felt from him slid her glove off and then shoved her toward the poor, confused assassin.

He met her eyes and she felt tears well up as he stared up at her sadly. "I'm sorry." She whispered, her pale hand shaking as she drew close enough to finally touch him. It broke her heart even more when he leaned into her hand as she lay it against his cheek and actually let out a sigh.

"I know." He muttered, surprising her yet again. He was so expressive tonight, not the usual blank, numb weapon they made him. That she _helped_ make him.

She closed her eyes, pressing her hand closer as she reached into his mind and, like so many times before, wiped him clean and left him as nothing but a shell of a man. The Winter Soldier yet again.

* * *

They surrounded him in a mad rush of squealing tires and harsh yelling. A sleek black van converged on him and he stumbled, torn between fighting in a mad rage and following orders like had had for more than 70 years. He was breaking. His mind was breaking in half and he was sure it was going to kill him.

He had failed. Failed in his mission… or had he been successful? Pulling him from the river… it had felt right.

"Get in the van, Soldier." One of the agents ordered, his voice calm but filled with authority. One of the men behind him opened said van, revealing two other agents and _her._ She looked so out of place between the two imposing agents and her sad, fearful face only made him angrier.

"In. Now, Soldier." The agent repeated and he stared at him, flexing his metal arm before slowly walking toward the van. Following orders. Always following orders.

 _Till the end of the line._ He flinched, shaking his head and tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. He slowly got himself into the van, trying to just focus on his breathing instead of the voices and the pain pushing its way to the surface.

"Sarge?"

 _Bucky._

"Hey, look at me, Sarge."

 _Your name is James Buchanan Barnes._

He gave a growl of anger, his hands covering his face as the agony nearly split his head open. His mind was breaking open, the horrors within spilling out. He was broken. He was falling apart.

"Just look at me. Look at me."

Her voice was a smooth balm and he slowly lifted his head to gaze at her. Soft blonde waves, pale heart shaped face, full pink lips turned up into a small, gentle smile. And blue eyes.

 _Till the end of the line._

 _He_ had blue eyes. Blue eyes, scrawny body.

No. He was tall, built.

He was a mission.

He was a friend. Was he a friend?

He let out a choked sob and his metal hand lashed out, leaving a fist shaped dent in the side of the van. The two agents gave shouts and drew their guns up, though that wasn't what he heard. He heard her voice raise up, cry out for them to stop and not hurt him. The van jumped and when her body accidentally hit the agent to the left, he seemed to think she was trying to make a weak attempt at making him lower his weapon. The agent gave her a look of cold anger before he snapped his arm back, hitting her straight in the face. Her head cracked against the metal of the wall and blood splattered from her small nose. Her blood… it was so red against her pale skin.

 _She stared up at him with blank, dead eyes, blood pouring from her mouth. It splattered against his cold, metal hand as he leaned down and choked what little life remained in her._

He whipped his hand out, grabbing the agents gun and ripping it from his hand before he punched him across the face. The other agent tried to fired his own gun to neutralize him but he turned around to quick, grabbing him and smashed his head against the vans metal, repeating his three times before he was knocked out. He other agent made a weak attempt at attacking him again before the assassin knocked him out as well.

"Sarge…"

He looked up, chest heaving and mind turning. She stared at him, her blue eyes filled with astonishment as she took in the two unconscious agents. She had never been without two HYDRA agents watching over her at all times. She was watched almost as closely as he was.

He walked forward and she almost looked fearful for a moment. He came closer and closer and she couldn't determine what he was going to do. She had never seen him like this before and God only knew what he would do now that he was pretty much free. But he surprised her yet again and instead of attacking, he reached down and quickly undid her restraints. She stared, looking almost overwhelmed when he pulled the restraining jacket off of her and then ripped away her thick black gloves, leaving her feeling naked and exposed.

He watched her flex her pale, shaking hands and stared down at them in wonder. Underneath that damned jacket she wore a thin black tank top and he had never seen her so bare. He grabbed one of her shaking hands with his flesh one, making her eyes widen even more. "What are you…"

"Hold on." He whispered, pulling her close to him before he kicked out and the vans back doors flew open. He pulled her as close as he could, making sure to protect her head with his metal hand before leaping out of the van toward the grass on the side of the road. She gave a cry of surprise before they landed and rolled, tumbling into the ditch close to a heavily wooded area. He quickly got them up and quickly made sure she wasn't any more hurt than she already was before ordering her to stay there.

"Th-they aren't going to let us get away." She gasped, looking toward the van that was now screeching to a halt. "They'll only hurt you more, Sarge. Please-"

 _She gently brushed her hand against his cheek, sniffling as silent tears tracked down her face. "Please… please don't make me. Please."_

"Stay here." He ordered her just as the driver of the van came out of the van, gun drawn and already shouting orders to get back in. She was shaking horribly and looked completely terrified, but she nodded and hurried to hide behind a tree.

"…in the van, Soldier! Back in now!"

He turned, narrowing his eyes at the man before he stormed forward, his mind on nothing but the mission at hand.

* * *

He moved with an incredible and deadly grace that took her breathe away. In all her years with him, she had never actually seen him in action and though she was impressed, she absolutely hated seeing him as the weapon they made him.

At least the weapon was turned against HYDRA now. Or so it seemed.

What the hell had happened?

The HYDRA agent was a good fighter, but Harmony could tell he was absolutely no match for the Winter Soldier, even when the man was injured and seemed to be losing his mind. He seemed to struggle to keep up while Sarge struck and landed blow after blow. Sarge dodged a punch from the agent before he landed his own with his metal hand and the agent fell to his knees, swaying as he struggled to stay conscious. Harmony held her breath, her heart beating madly in her chest as she waited for him to land the final blow. When he did, she would be free of an agent for the first time since she was eight years old. They would be all but free.

But the agent let out a choked word in another language and Sarge froze, his blue eyes widening. She felt an overwhelming amount pain flash through him and it nearly knocked the wind out of her. He seemed to struggle with something, groaning and stumbling like he had in the van and the agent to this opportunity to grab his gun from the grass. He raised it with shaking hands, glaring at Sarge as he held his head and continued his internal struggle. Harmony quickly and as quietly as possible came out from behind her tree and toward the two, silently pleading for Sarge to get his head together and finish the job before she would get there. But he continued to fight the demons inside his head and Harmony barely made it in time to shove the agents hands away and stop the bullet he fired from going straight into the assassin's head and instead brushed his metal arm.

The agent cursed her furiously, whipping the gun toward her but she was to quick. She shoved her hand against his neck, feeling his mind and feelings flow into her as soon as her flesh met his. His whole body went rigid and she shoved her mind into his, ripping through it and tearing apart whatever she could as she did. She saw his cushy, sweet childhood with his loving parents and the cold, detached way he viewed them. She saw when he killed his first animal, a small little kitten and the way he enjoyed the way it's blood stained the grass. She saw the first child he hurt. She saw his teenage years and the path that led him to this very second. She saw it all in mere seconds and before she could become overwhelmed, she quickly pushed it away and instead focused on tearing his twisted, disgusting mind apart. She ripped and destroyed everything about him away until he gave a horrible scream that echoed through the woods and fell back, his body falling into the grass with a small thud.

Her chest heaved as she stared down at him, watching his eyes stare straight up at the sky, blank… dead. But he wasn't dead… he was worse than that. He was nothing. Just an empty, hallow shell. She had scooped him out and left him empty.

She only tore her eyes away from the man when she heard Sarge's metal arm make an odd whirling noise. She looked over at him and was surprised to see his eyes were raging, but his face was unnervingly blank. "Sarge?" She muttered, taking a cautious step toward him. His metal hand twitched and she saw his eyes flick up to study her in an oddly detached way. "Hey… it-it's me. It's Harmony."

His face scrunched at her name and he blinked a couple times, like he was trying to clear his head of whatever HYDRA had planted in it. She slowly crept forward and daringly put her hand on his arm. He sucked in a breath, his whole body coiling in defense. She quickly sent him a wave of calm and he relaxed just a bit and looked down at her cautiously. "It's just me and you. And we need to go."

"Harmony." He whispered, looking slightly confused for a moment.

"Yeah." She smiled, squeezing his arm gently. "We have to get out of here, Sarge."

His head snapped up at her nickname for him, his eyes slightly wild as he frowned. "Bucky."

"What?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"My name." He said, though he sounded slightly unsure. "I think."

She nodded slowly, taking in this new information. "Time to leave, Bucky."

He gave her a determined nod before he marched toward the woods and she quickly followed after, enjoying the feel of the breeze on her skin for the first time in more than ten years. And while HYDRA would seek them out and they would still be in quite a lot of danger, she couldn't help but feel a rush of real happiness as they trudged through the trees to their freedom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody! Sorry it took so long to update this, but I got really busy with work and also I had to rewrite it several times. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited and alerted this story! You guys are awesome. Hope you enjoy this chapter. You see a bit more of their relationship and Harmony's powers.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything Captain America.**

She walked after him through the forest and for once her own emotions were so overwhelming that, even though he was struggling and falling apart, she didn't notice him for a moment. Everything was so crazy and she was just so scared and happy and nervous and… and _free_ that she didn't notice that he was breaking apart just a few feet in front of her.

She didn't notice until he nearly collapsed in front of her. All those emotions seemed to freeze and all she could feel was utter panic when she saw him struggle to get back up from his knees and when she drew closer, she noticed for the first time that he was bleeding. "Sarge!" She gasped, running forward and quickly trying to stop him from falling over again when he finally got himself up off the ground. "Hey, just sit still for a minute."

He shook his head, his eyes slightly crazed as he tried to step around her and continue through the woods. "Sarge, please, stop! You're hurt." She begged, gently tugging on his arm.

He stopped for a moment, turning to stare at her with wide, utterly confused eyes. "My mission…" He whispered, his eyebrows scrunching together as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. "I have to finish my mission. Level… level six."

Harmony frowned, sadness welling up inside her as she reached out and gently lay her hand against his cheek. "There are no more missions, Sarge." She assured him, sending a wave of calm over him. She didn't want to manipulate him anymore, but she also couldn't stand the pain and fear spreading through him. He didn't know what to do, didn't know where to go and he was so utterly lost.

Once he was soothed a bit, she gently asked him to seat himself on the ground. It broke her heart that he looked so confused at her posing it as a question rather than an order, but he did it all the same. She quickly got his jacket off, flinching when she caught sight of the horrible bruise on his left side and a rather deep cut on his right leg. She knew he healed quickly, but the injuries were still going to slow him down for a little while. Whoever his last mission had been had put up a really good fight.

"Okay. Okay." She whispered, trying to think over what they could do. But she didn't know where they were, didn't know how to survive out here or even how to help him. She knew nothing and it was suddenly dawning on her how horribly useless she was. She began to panic, tears threatening to spill over her pale cheeks as she stared down at his injuries and couldn't think of a single thing to do.

"We need to find a car."

Her eyes snapped to his and she saw that he looked surprisingly steady. Though her own panic was blaring and echoing around her head, she could feel that he was growing steadily more calm and less conflicted. "A car?"

He nodded before taking a deep breath and then hauled himself up from the ground. She began to protest, but instead gave a squeak of surprise when he then reached down and pulled her up as well. "Find a car, then find a safe place."

"O-okay." She whispered, nodding slowly. Find a car, then find a safe house. She now had something to do, had a plan. "But… your injuries-"

"I'm already healing." He said, quickly strapping himself back into his vest. "Go."

She was still shaky, still terrified but when he began walking through the trees again, she followed. He was clearly still struggling but trudged forward with a newfound determination and she hovered close behind him to make sure he didn't collapse again. She wasn't sure if he knew where he was going or if his enhanced training was helping him find his way through the woods, but she couldn't say she wasn't surprised when they came across a small cabin a short while later.

It was a cute little place and thankfully, there was an old, but sturdy looking truck in the driveway. Bucky immediately began to search the area for threats and while he did so, Harmony quieted the fear and anxiety still swirling inside her to try and see if anyone was in the house. She hoped and prayed that there wasn't, partially so she wouldn't have to worry about Bucky having to fight off some innocent and taking the chance of snapping and hurting them and partially so she wouldn't have to use her powers on another person.

While she had to make skin to skin contact to delve into a person's mind, she could still feel their emotions and presence without doing so. They were like a pounding in the back of her head, constantly there and invading her own mind. She took a deep breath and tried to search past Bucky to see if anyone else was in the area. Luckily, she came up short and found that the two of them were the only people within the area. "No one is there." She assured him, earning a curious look from him. "I would feel them. We're the only one's here."

He stared at her for a moment, trying to determine if he could just take her word for it or should search the area as he had so many times over the years on various missions. It was in his training and his training had been drilled so far into him that there wasn't much else. She knew this and watched the struggle before she reached out and squeezed his arm gently. "Come on." She urged him, giving him a kind smile before heading into the clearing herself.

Bucky followed after her, though his whole body was tense and ready for any threat that might present itself. When they came to the front door he stepped in front of her and cautiously jiggled the handle and seemed slightly surprised when it came open without any kind of fight. It creaked loudly as it swung open and Harmony stared into the dark room to find it completely empty. "Nobody is home." Harmony assured him again, watching Bucky scan the small living room and kitchen area wearily. "I told you, I would feel someone if they were here."

He nodded slowly and she was surprised when he actually relaxed a bit at her words. Harmony took a moment to look around the area curiously, taking in the dirty dishes in the sink, the cute, cheesy sayings hanging around the kitchen and the pictures lining the wall in the living room. An older couple resided here and they filled the wall with pictures of what Harmony assumed was their children and grandkids. Looking at their smiling faces she felt a bit guilty that they were going to be stealing from them, but she knew they were going to have to do some bad things to get to their freedom. Maybe someday Harmony could pay them back somehow.

She tore herself away from the pictures after a moment, turning to search for Sarge – _No, Bucky. His name is Bucky_ – but gave a yelp of surprise when she found that he was standing just behind her and staring at the pictures as well. He was so silent from his years of training that he hadn't even made a noise when he came to stand behind her. She was about to tell him to warn her next time, but the way he was looking at the pictures on the wall made the words die on her lips. She could feel him growing unstable again, the storm brewing inside him as he looked over the happy pictures on the wall. "Bucky?"

His head snapped up and she felt a sliver of confusion run through him. "You call me Sarge." He stated and though she could feel his confusion, he sounded completely sure about this fact.

"Yes. But you said... you said your name was Bucky. Remember?" She asked him, trying to keep her voice low and calm so she didn't stir up the storm raging inside him anymore than it already was. He flinched at the name that she had given him, grabbing his head and groaning a bit. She took a slight step back, fear bubbling in her stomach. He couldn't lose it again now. The people who lived here could return any minute and she needed his help to get out of this. _Not that I deserve it._

"Hey, hey, it's okay." She whispered, trying to keep her voice from betraying how fearful she was. He was still in obvious pain, his hands pressed against his eyes as though he was trying to block out whatever he was seeing. She took a daring step forward and lay a gentle hand on his flesh arm, delving into his mind to try to see what exactly was causing him so much pain and to see if she could help.

" _Two targets. Level six."_

 _Tall, curvy red head, running away, frantically ordering civilians away. He zeroed in on her and fired the shot._

" _You know me." He panted, his blue eyes staring straight into him from behind the mask. The words angered him, filled him with a wild rage. He was his mission. Nothing more than his mission._

" _NO, I DON'T!" He lashed out, sloppy and wild but it sent the target stumbling back. He stumbled as well as the sinking air ship groaned underneath him._

" _Bucky." The target breathed, staring at him with those sad blue eyes._

" _BUCKY! Wait up!" Same face, same blue eyes, but he was so small, so scrawny. He could barely breath and with a sigh, he pulled out the boy's inhaler and handed it over. The scrawny boy gave a sheepish grin, taking it thankfully._

 _The target stared up at him, clearly struggling to stay conscious. He stared, hesitating to finish the job. Why was he hesitating? "Then finish it." The target urged, his breath ragged and worn. "Because I'm with you, till the end of the line."_

His mind was so chaotic, so confused and pained. He felt like he was splitting apart and she couldn't blame him for struggling so badly at the moment. He wasn't sure what was happening anymore or what, or rather who, he was. He knew nothing and he was suddenly filled with so many conflicting memories and feelings that his poor, broken mind couldn't even handle it. She wanted nothing more than to knock him out and let him rest but they needed to move on as quickly as they could. So instead, she focused on trying to get him back and anchor him.

 _Focus on me, Sarge. Focus on me._ She called, avoiding using the name he gave her. She felt him buried somewhere beneath the chaos and she could feel him drowning beneath it all. She continued to try to get him to focus on her and eventually she felt his mind slowly begin to calm. The flood of memories slowed and began to drift away, leaving… not quite peace but a stillness that at least left him able to function. She pulled away then, sure that he wanted her out of his head after all these years of her forcibly shoving her way in. When she opened her eyes, she immediately saw his grey blue eyes staring back at her.

"I'm sorry. I really am, but we have to go before whoever lives here gets back." She said, eyeing his reaction nervously and hating how unreadable his face and emotions were. He was surprisingly blank right now and she felt a prickle of fear wondering if she had accidently reverted him back to his Winter Soldier persona.

He nodded, straightening up and looking out the door toward the truck still in the driveway. "Get a car. Find a safe place."

She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly nodded. "Y-yeah. But first, you need to change." She muttered, looking down at his ragged bullet proof gear and large, black pants. "Something less… military."

He looked down at himself, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment but he didn't argue as she headed into the bedroom. Luckily there were some spare clothes hanging in the closet and she grabbed a simple outfit, handed the clothes over to him and then she headed into the bathroom to change as well.

She gently closed the door and as soon as she turned, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her pale blonde hair was wild and ratty, her face was splotchy and she still had flecks of blood on her from the elbow she took to her face. She quickly turned the water on, washer her face and then tried to sort out her hair. After, she stripped herself of her old tank top, frowning at the old, faded scars that littered her body.

 _Bright, florescent lights blinded her and the smell of bleach burned her nose. She gave a whimper, trying to twist her head to get a better look at where she was but her she could barely move._

" _This won't hurt too much."_

 _She turned toward the voice, tears filling her eyes as she caught sight of the doctor, his face hidden behind those awful masks. He held a rather large looking needle and he lifted it higher before tilting his head to look down at her. He stared, looking at her like she wasn't a squirming, fearful child, but something to study, to tear into and learn how it ticked. "Hold still."_

Harmony quickly shook the memories away, trying to focus on the present instead. She shoved the shirt on, covering the horrid scars and then headed back to check up on… Sarge. It was safest to stick with her nickname for him. She couldn't take a chance of setting him off again.

He was dressed in the jeans, a long sleeved shirt, jacket and had even found a hat and gloves to put on. He still looked threatening of course, mostly due to his intense, stormy eyes and the hard set of his jaw, but he still looked like a normal person. Or what Harmony thought a normal person looked like. If she was telling the truth, she hadn't been outside of HYDRA custody in so long, she wasn't sure what a 'normal', everyday person dressed like.

"Come on." She urged, heading back toward the kitchen. She hastily grabbed some food before they headed toward the truck to leave the small cabin behind. Sarge made quick work of hot wiring the vehicle and it roared to life, much to Harmony's relief. And just like that, they were on the road.

For a while, Harmony just stared out the window, taking in all of the landscape and farmland that stretched out before her. The world felt suddenly so very _big_ now that she was outside of a stuffy lab, her very small room or some van that HYDRA had forced her into. It was slightly overwhelming but at the same time, it made her feel even more free. And even better about their chances of getting away from HYDRA. The world was huge… they could find somewhere that HYDRA couldn't find them.

She pulled back slightly from the window, frowning. She shouldn't be thinking of them as some kind of team or like they were in this together. She was sure that once he began to gather his memories, he would dump her as soon as he could. And, even though the thought of being on her own terrified her, she knew she didn't deserve his help after all these years of helping make him what he was. She hated herself for it, so she could only imagine how much he would hate her once he remembered.

Harmony found a spike of pain from Sarge and she glanced nervously over at him. His hands were wrapped tightly around the wheel, his jaw was clenched and she was sure that, while she was staring happily out the window, he had been getting stuck in his own head again.

"Sarge?" She muttered and he glanced over at her, looking slightly surprised by her presence. "You okay?"

"My injuries won't be a problem." He stated, his features smoothing out and back into a blank mask. She quickly shook her head, frowning.

"No, no. I mean are you like… okay?" She asked again and that only earned a puzzled look in return. Then it hit her. He didn't know how to answer about his mental well-being. No HYDRA agent would have ever asked or cared about something like that. They would only care if he was functioning enough to be the weapon they needed. That realization made her incredibly sad. She knew that he had been abused and tortured before and after she had come into his life, but being alone with him in this capacity was making her realize just how much he had been hurt over the years. And how… less then human they had made him into.

"I just meant, if you want to talk about what happened earlier… what set all this off, I'm here." She said, giving him a gentle smile. He still looked slightly confused by what she was saying and for a moment she thought he was going to repeat something about his injuries but instead, he took her by surprise.

"Why do you call me Sarge?" He asked, his eyes flicking back over to her. She blinked, completely caught off guard by the question.

"Um… I heard them call you a Sargent once. And I always liked that better than Winter Soldier." She shrugged. His jaw clenched at the term and for a horrified moment she thought she had set him off again, but to her relief he slowly relaxed.

"My mission… the man called me Bucky." He said slowly, and she watched and listened carefully to his feelings. He was still confused, still in pain but it was on a smaller scale now. He seemed to have a better control over all of it.

"Do you know who he was?" She asked, watching him cautiously. She wasn't sure if she should push the questions and what they would do to his fragile psyche, but her curiosity overrode that fear momentarily. She had seen into his mind for years, flashes here and there of his old life before but none of it had made any sense and she couldn't even see it well because of how hard they had scrambled his brain. And his name, though she had searched for it, had always been completely lost to her. She had thought once that it had been Steve, but had later found that name was attached to a blurry image of a small, scrawny boy that cropped up in his memories every once in a while. She never got a good look at the boy's face, but with how much he came up over the years, she had figured he was someone important to him. Most likely it was the same boy she had seen earlier, but she couldn't be sure.

A flare of pain sparked inside him at the question and she almost reached out to sooth him with calming feelings but quickly stopped herself. She didn't have to manipulate him anymore and he sure as hell didn't deserve to have her force those things on him anymore. So, even though she was slightly nervous because of his erratic behavior and how deadly he was, she let him feel what he was feeling. If he hurt her… well, it wasn't like she didn't deserve it.

"I… I don't know." He finally answered, struggling again to work through the fog and pain ripping its way through him. "I think. But…"

"Hey, it's okay." She said, flashing him a comforting smile and hoped that it soothed him in place of her powers. It seemed to, because she felt the different emotions flickering through him ease slightly, though they were still there in the background. She decided to change the subject to something safer. "We need to find somewhere to stay."

This seemed to focus him and she felt his emotions being shoved even further down. His face became blank and emotionless again and she was sure he was recalling his training again. He drove them for another hour or so, keeping to back roads and wooded areas before they found a wooded area that seemed to be secluded enough for his liking. He shut the truck off and to her surprise he took off his jacket and handed it over to her. "No, it's fine-"

"Take it." He ordered again and she did, giving him a gentle smile in return. She wrapped it around herself, enjoying the warmth and she didn't realize just how tired she was until she got wrapped into his jacket.

"Wake me when you want me to take over watch." She said, glancing at him and taking in his very stiff, alert profile. He gave her a curt nod and she let out a sigh before closing her eyes and drifting into sleep.

 **So I hope you enjoyed this. There will be a bit more action in the next chapter, I promise. Please review and let me know what you think.**

 **Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Long time, no see! Sorry it took so long to update! I got a new job and have been really busy with training and learning everything. I wrote when I could but I finally got to sit down and finish the whole chapter. This part is coming to the end of Winter Soldier and after that it is most likely going to deviate from what happened between Winter Soldier and Civil War. I loved Civil War and thought it was awesome but I also love Bucky and Steve's relationship and I want to explore that a little more in this story. So it will become more AU after this. Just a warning.**

 **Anyhoo, go ahead and read and let me know what you think! Thanks!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but Harmony.**

 _She wandered through the empty hallways helplessly, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She was barefoot, her feet slapping loudly against the cold concrete floors as she made a mad dash around the corner, only to find more sterile, white hallway in front of her. She stopped for a moment, trying to figure out where she was and how the hell she could get out of here._

 _Hands reached for her from behind, snaking around to cover her mouth and yank her against a strong muscular frame. "Did you really think you could get out of here, little girl?"_

 _She recognized the rough, deep voice of Rumlow and she gave a scream of anger and panic, twisting and whipping around to try to free herself. He was too strong though, holding her so close that she could barely breathe. "You'll never be free of us, Harmony."_

 _Suddenly he whipped her around, revealing the agent who had fought with Bucky, his face twisted into a dark, sinister smile. "We made you into the little monster you are. We're apart of you."_

 _She shoved him away with a growl of anger, whipping around and taking off down the never ending hallway. She had to get out, had to get back to the open highway from before. To freedom._

 _She turned another corner, giving a cry of frustration when she found nothing but the same hallway. She continued onward, sneaking panicked glances behind her to make sure they weren't following her. During one of these look behinds, she ran straight into something solid and hard, knocking the wind out of her and she fell back onto the hard floor. Sarge stood before her, tall and imposing. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of him. He could get her out. He would know the way._

 _"_ _You belong to HYDRA, Harmony." Peirce's voice whispered from behind her, making her shiver and terror trickle down her spine. "To the greater good."_

 _Sarge leaned down, grabbing her roughly and then slammed her back against the wall with such force that it knocked the wind out of her. She begged, pleaded him to stop, put her down, help her, but he just stared at her with those blank, emotionless eyes that marked him as the cold, deadly assassin. "You never helped me."_

 _And then his metal hand swung toward her._

Harmony jerked awake with a wild gasp, her whole body shaking. Fear and panic were choking at her and when she looked around, she didn't recognize where she was for a moment, which didn't help calm her at all. A large hand laid down on her shoulder and she whipped around to see Sarge sitting next to her, looking mildly concerned.

"I'm fine." She said automatically, pushing her hair out of her face with a shaky hand. Sarge looked unconvinced, but unsure of what exactly to do. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted when Harmony gave another gasp. "It's 4:30 in the morning! Why didn't you wake me up to take over?"

He blinked, looking a bit confused by her accusing glare. "You needed more sleep than I did." He shrugged, but Harmony could feel a trickle of nervousness coming from him.

"You still need some. If you think I can't be a look out or something-"

"I don't doubt your abilities." He muttered, looking away from her, his jaw clenching and unclenching. "I need to be shut down by a trigger word."

Harmony froze, looking up at him in horror. She thought she knew enough about him to stop being surprised by the way he had been treated by HYDRA, but here they were. She had seen enough of the abuse over the years… shock therapy, beatings, how they froze him and then woke up him and taunting from some of the cockier agents. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that there were huge parts of his life that she didn't know or think about. She had never seen him eat or sleep or when they let him shower. These were basic things but she was sure that they certainly didn't do them in humane ways.

"Um… well, just try to close your eyes and stop thinking about things. Sleep will come." She said, hopefully giving him what was a convincing smile. He was frowning more than ever, looking like he didn't understand how to do any of it. "If you want… I could calm you. That always helps with sleep."

"They have ordered you to shut me down before." He stated and though he was simply stating a fact, she flinched at the truth of the words.

 _We made you into the little monster you are._

"I'm not going to do that anymore. You don't deserve that." She whispered, trying to shake off the memories of the dream. She didn't feel any anger or bitterness from him, but she knew he didn't remember the extent of things that were her fault. "Just… just try to sleep normally. I'll take over."

He was still unsure, but leaned back against the seat and looked… well, Harmony wasn't sure he ever looked relaxed. But he closed his eyes and that was good enough for her.

A couple of hours passed and the sun slowly began to peek through the trees of the forest. Harmony used the time to think of what exactly they should do next and tried not to think about the horrible dream from before. She was sure her plans of running off to Europe and sightseeing weren't quite doable or practical. Most of the fantasies she had harbored over the years while she wasted away in that tiny room HYDRA provided for her involved going somewhere far away and seeing everything she had read about in her books. She knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but she could dream. At least it was more of a possibility now.

Sarge's low groan tore her away from her own thoughts and she glanced over at him wearily. He had gotten to sleep himself, probably from pure exhaustion and was now twitching, with a dark, trouble look on his still sleeping face. She frowned, wondering what she should do. Waking him up and jarring him out of his dream could be dangerous and he could wake up in his Winter Soldier mindset. She chewed on her lip nervously, hating how often in just this one day being free she had to use her powers on him.

She finally decided that it would be better and less invasive to just calm him instead of delving into his head. She cautiously moved a bit closer, focusing on sending him soothing, comforting feelings instead of the panic and fear rising up inside him. At first his own feelings were so overwhelming that she wasn't even helping, but then she pushed harder and she felt him slowly begin to relax. After a couple of minutes, she felt confident enough to wake him herself and she reached out, shaking his arm gently. "Sarge… Sarge, wake up." She whispered, sending another wave of calm as whatever he was dreaming gave him a flash of panic. "It's okay. We're okay, Sarge."

He woke with a cry, one that pieced her straight through the heart. Luckily, he didn't lash out at her or try to harm her since he was too caught up in the panic and fear coursing through his veins. "We're safe in the truck. We're free." She assured him and she hated the way his face scrunched in pain. But despite the look, she could feel him beginning to regain control of himself and the fear slowly begin to dissipate. But the pain stayed behind and began to mix with more confusion.

"Sarge…" She muttered, reaching out tentatively and laid a hand on his arm. He stiffened, but didn't pull away. "Do… do you want to talk about it?"

He let out a long, deep breath and clenched his jaw tightly. She was sure he was going to reject her, but was surprised when he glanced over at her with those stormy, dark eyes. "I was falling. From a train."

She flinched, knowing the exact memory he was talking about. She had seen it before in his head, felt the sensation of falling, heard a blurry faced man scream from above and then remembered the horrible pain when he woke up. It was how he had lost his arm, though how it was humanly possible for him to survive the drop, she wasn't sure. Probably something on HYDRA's part. They were good with impossible.

"Do you remember when that was?" She asked, waiting for the answer curiously. He was such a mystery, one that she had been trying to figure out for half her life. But everything inside his head was so confusing, so mixed up and some pieces entirely lost that she could never put all of him together and it drove her crazy.

"Before." He muttered, staring down at his metal hand with a twisted, angry frown. He clenched and unclenched his fingers, staring at it with nothing but pure hatred. It took the breath out of her and it took everything she had not to take it away. " _He_ was there. He was yelling for me."

"He?" She asked, watching him in confusion. "You mean your mission? From earlier?"

He nodded, pain stabbing at him for a moment before he looked up at her. "Steve. His name is Steve. But they call him something else now…" His voice faded away as he struggled so hard to remember. She knew she recognized the man from his memories as well, but she couldn't place where exactly she did. "Captain America. They called him Captain America."

"Captain America!" Harmony gasped, straightening up and nodding. He glanced at her, looking a little surprised by her eagerness. "They've talked about him before. I saw a picture of him out of uniform in one of the files some agent had. That's why I didn't recognize him."

"You know him?" Sarge asked, watching her curiously.

"I mean, not personally. But he's pretty popular and I know a bunch of agents took him as a threat." She answered, trying to think back on what little she knew about him. "You knew him though. You recognized him when you went after him on the bridge too. That's why they… why I had to wipe you again."

She looked away from him at the confession, clenching her hand so tightly that she felt her fingernails dig into the skin of her palm. She wondered if he would grow angry with her at the reminder of what she had done, but instead he stared out the window, his face thoughtful. She wasn't sure what to say or how to even begin to apologize for everything she had done over the years. How did someone go about apologizing for taking away everything about a person and making them a hollow shell of what they used to be?

As Harmony was struggling with this, her stomach gave a loud, unflattering grumble of hunger. Sarge glanced over at her and she swore that she felt a flicker of amusement deep within him. "You should eat." He urged her when she turned away and blushed. Harmony nodded, reaching into the back seat to grab the food she had taken from the little cabin and pulled out some chips and handed Sarge some as well. "We need water."

Harmony nodded, popping a couple of chips into her mouth. They were plain, salty chips but Harmony had never really been allowed such things and they tasted amazing to her. "Do we have to drink pond water?" She asked, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

"No. We need gas as well. We can stop at a station." He said simply, turning the truck on and heading out toward the road they had come on.

"We don't have any money." She frowned, glancing over at him curiously. Hopefully he wasn't thinking of attacking some poor gas station attendant.

"You'll have to use your powers on them." He said, making her flinch.

"I don't… I don't want to do that." She muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from him.

"We can't risk stealing. It could get us noticed. If you just-"

"Fine." She sighed, knowing there was no use arguing. He had a point. They couldn't risk getting caught stealing or even have him fight his way out of the situation. It would draw to much attention and they were risking a lot even just going out in public. She would hate it, but she would do what she had to, to protect them. And while she would still be manipulating someone, at least she wouldn't be hurting them. "I'll do it."

He glanced at her and she could feel that he was slightly confused, but he didn't say anything more as they drew closer to town. Harmony began to feel the familiar buzzing in the back of her head as they drew closer to more people. Even in a small area like this, the number of people was getting slightly overwhelming for her. She had never been around this many people at once since HYDRA had always kept her in small facilities with very few people. While the buzzing was beginning to get hard to block out, it was still slightly exciting to feel this many people at once.

Bucky slowly pulled into the gas station, which held an older man at the register, a young woman getting some chips and a man filling up his car. Bucky drew on his hat, shoving it low over his eyes before he glanced over at her to see if she was ready. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, but she took a deep breath and nodded before slipping out of the old truck and toward the station.

A bell ran overhead when she opened the door, making her jump slightly. The old man at the register was finishing with the young woman, leaving them alone as she left through the same door, which rang out again as the door swung shut. She quickly headed toward the back, grabbing several bottles of water for her and Sarge before shakily heading toward the register, where the old man gave her a welcome smile. She scanned the man's emotions quickly, feeling nothing but a slight boredom and kindness from him, much to her relief. If he had been alarmed or fearful, she was sure he had recognized her or Sarge outside.

"Good morning." He smiled, beginning to grab for one of the water bottles. Harmony took another deep breath, steadying herself before she reached out and grabbed his hand. His face went slack as soon as her skin touched his and his eyes glossed over as he waited for whatever orders she was going to give him.

"Y-you're going to let me have this water for free. The gas for the truck outside as well. And you are going to forget-" Harmony paused, staring just behind the man as she caught sight of a red, white and blue on the wall. She leaned around him, her heart thudding loudly in her ears as she read it. _Captain America Exhibit at the Smithsonian!_ "You're going to give me that Captain America poster and then forget either of us were here."

He nodded slowly, that dazed look still on his face as he turned away, grabbed the poster and then handed it off to her. She quickly snatched it away, gathering the water and then hurriedly headed back to the truck where Sarge was finishing up with the gas. "Let's go." She urged him, earning a slightly worried look from him. "Everything is fine."

He nodded, but started the truck and pulled off as quickly as he could. Harmony handed him a water bottle, nervously clutching the poster in her hands. "What is that?" He asked, catching sight of it before she could fold it up.

"I… I saw it in the gas station." She said gently as she handed it over to him. "I thought we could go. Maybe they would have something about you there."

He stared at the poster for a moment, his jaw clenching slightly as he read it over. "It… it would be dangerous." He said, setting the poster down between them with a deep frown.

"We're in danger where ever we go." She argued, shrugging. "Sarge, we could find out more about you. We could find out how Captain America recognized you."

She could feel that he was struggling with fear and pain, but underneath it, she could feel a small sliver of hope. It was buried deep underneath the other two emotions, but it was there and she could feel it like a light shining through the darkness. "You deserve to find out who you are… Bucky."

His hand tightened around the steering wheel and she could see that he was surprised by use of his name. He seemed to struggle with all the conflicting emotions swirling within him, but Harmony knew, from that tiny little flicker of hope, what his decision was going to be. "Only 20 minutes."

She broke into a huge smile, which drew a look of confusion from him. He clearly didn't understand why someone would be so happy for him and if she wasn't so distracted by her own excitement, she would be able to feel the slight warmth growing in his chest at the sight of that happy smile. He stared at it, taking in the lovely curve of her lips, the way the corner of her eyes crinkled when she smiled. It was one of the most beautiful things he had seen in a long time and it was for him.

* * *

A big city like the Capitol was so overwhelming, Harmony nearly passed out. Just seeing all the buildings and structures and roads was enough to give her a heart attack. She knew she had driven through areas like this in her years with HYDRA, but she had always been stuck in the back of a windowless van and had never been allowed to see anything. This was a whole new world to her and she didn't seem to have enough eyes to take it all in.

The people were another matter. She had never been around so many at one time and the way it affected her nearly overwhelmed her. It was like a horrible humming in the back of her head, growing and pounding madly against her brain. But she knew that if she let it affect her, Sarge would just turn back and she knew he wouldn't come alone. So she put on a brave face and tried to shove it away before it overwhelmed her completely.

They parked in a part of the parking lot that was a little less crowded and before Sarge even allowed her out of the car, he made sure to scan the area for any type of threats. She tried to see what he was, tried to spot something amiss in the crowd but all she saw was normal, everyday people. Or what she thought was normal, everyday people. She hadn't exactly met any to know what they really looked like.

He didn't seem to find any threats, because he shoved the hat low on his head and gave her a nod to let her know it was okay to leave the truck. She did and when the smells and sounds of the area hit her for the first time, she felt completely and utterly exposed. It was all so new and scary and exhilarating that she could hardly stand it.

She began to walk next to Sarge, trying to hid her shaking hands in the pocket of her jeans. She could tell he was still scanning the area for threats as they walked toward the entrance of the exhibit, but he was also growing more and more anxious as they drew closer. She didn't blame him. Who knew what he was going to find when he entered the place. Or if they were going to find anything at all. Even if they didn't, at least they had tried. Sarge deserved to figure out who he was.

The display was filled with people of all ages, from little babies too old, frail looking men. They milled about and Harmony tried to block out the barrage of hundreds of emotions hitting her from every direction and instead tried to focus on Sarge. He was easy to find because of her familiarity with the tune of his emotions, but it was hard to focus when so many people were around feeling every emotion that was possible. Anger, annoyance, lust, excitement, boredom. It all raged around her, threatening to drown her.

 _Breathe,_ she urged herself, trying to push it all away and focus on the jittery anxiety and fear that was coming off of Sarge. _Breathe. This is for Sarge. This is about him._

She took a deep breath before she finally began to take in the displays before her. Everything was red, white and blue and she heard a voice echoing through the area, narrating the life of Captain America as they walked further in. Sarge stopped when he caught sight of a large painting of the very hero himself, looking exactly like the man Harmony had seen in his head. Sarge stared, his stormy eyes conflicted as he took in the man he had tried to kill just days before.

She felt guilt fill him, followed quickly by anger and fear. She wanted to reach out and sooth him, but he needed to figure this all out on his own. Something here was possibly about his life and he deserved to figure it all out in the way he wanted to and needed to.

He turned on his heel, heading deeper into the exhibit. A computerized screen flashed a picture of Captain America pre and post serum and she watched as small children measured themselves against pictures, while two black and white photos displayed his height and weight. Harmony read over the information, interested in what exactly had made this hero who he was. She knew Captain America was a threat to HYDRA because they knew he would never support the cause, but she didn't know anything else about the man.

More facts littered the walls, showing that he had saved 163 lives in Italy during WWII, that he had lived in New York while growing up, that his parents had passed away before he had joined the army. She tried to concentrate on the different exhibits, but the pounding in her head was beginning to overwhelm her. She turned, about to find a quiet corner but when she looked up, she found herself face to face with a picture of Sarge. His hair was shorter, his face younger and a bit lighter, but she knew it was him. She took a couple of steps forward, taking in the glass memoriam to the very man who had brought her here.

Harmony took a couple of steps closer, reading over the memoriam of James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, the childhood friend of Captain American himself. Bucky had a family, younger siblings and had enlisted in the army to serve his country after the disaster of Pearl Harbor and became a hero in his own right during his time in the military. He served next to his childhood friend and had in the line of duty after falling from a train.

Harmony felt a swirl of hurt, shame and dread next to her and she knew that Sarge had found his way to the picture as well. She snuck a glance at him, taking in the tight set of his shoulders, the scrunched, pained way he stared at his very own photo with no recognition. She bit her lip, completely unsure of how to comfort or help him with all of this. How did you help someone with something like this?

"You… you were a hero." She whispered, watching as his brow furrowed at the sound of her voice and she felt a flicker of pain inside him. "And he was your friend."

"I'm not him." Sarge muttered, his fists balling tightly in the pockets of his jacket. "This… this isn't me."

"It is you." She assured him, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm. She felt the unrelenting metal beneath the jacket, firm and hard against her hand and he flinched away from her touch. She sighed, letting her hand fall to her side before she looked back at the photo. "He still cares about you. I saw it and I know you could feel it. That's why you saved him."

Sarge closed his eyes, clearly growing overwhelmed by this whole thing. "It doesn't matter." He growled, before turning on his heel and heading toward the door. Harmony sighed, quickly following after him as he pushed his way through the crowd of people and children milling about.

"Sarge. Sarge, stop." She cried, trying to keep up with him. People kept bumping into her or brushing against her, making it even harder to get through. "Sarge, please-"

Some woman, trying to keep up with two of her overly excited children brushed against her hand, making contact with her and suddenly overwhelming her with a barrage of emotions. She was so annoyed by her children, by their whining and screaming, angry with her husband for working all the time, anxious to get through this day so she could sneak away to see her neighbor, John. There was so much swirling around within her and since Harmony hadn't been prepared for it, it all hit her at once. She stumbled back, trying to get away from the woman and all of the things in her head so quickly that she ended up on her back, dizzy and confused.

Several people crowded around her, making her head pound even worse than before and she felt all of their concerns and panic around her. She began to panic, all of it becoming too much. The edge of her vision began to turn black and she felt so light headed she was sure she was going to pass out. Suddenly Sarge was before her, lifting her up as though she weighed nothing at all and he began to shove his way out of the sea of people threatening to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on him alone, but even that was hard.

After several moments, Sarge gently lowered her onto a cold, concrete bench and after she opened her eyes she found that they were now outside the museum in a small, park like area with only two or three other people milling around the area. She could still feel all of the other hundreds of people in the area, but they were more muted now and she felt very few emotions around her. "I'm… I'm sorry." She breathed, running a shaky hand through her hair. "All those people and I just… I wasn't expecting that woman."

He nodded, though she could feel that he was confused by her words. "You can feel all of them?" He asked, tilting his head as he watched her.

She nodded, feeling suddenly very exposed and cold with her bare hands and arms. "I've never been around that many people before. HYDRA never had many agents around me and… no one ever touched me."

Sarge nodded, though his frown only deepened. "We shouldn't have come." He sighed, eyeing the people around them nervously. "This was a mistake-"

"No it wasn't." She insisted, surprising him. "We found out who you are. We found out that Captain America could help you-"

"No one is going to help me." He growled, shaking his head adamantly. The words struck a chord of fear inside him and brought up all of his other conflicting feelings surrounding his pervious target all over again.

"He obviously cares about you, Sarge." She whispered. Focusing on him was and his internal conflict was helping to soothe her and block out everything else around her again. She could feel all of his fear and self-doubt and it was now helping her to ignore even the other people just a couple of feet away from her. "He could help you remember who you were. Not to mention he could help us with protection. It's only a matter of time before HYDRA catches up with us."

Sarge's jaw clenched and unclenched as he chewed on this before he shook his head, looking away from her. "We'll manage." He muttered, before shoving his hands back into his jacket pockets. "Let's go."

She wanted to argue but she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with him while he was as conflicted and scared as he was now. So she merely nodded, pulling herself up onto her shaking legs and followed after him onto the truck. Even if he refused later after he had calmed down, she would find a way to make contact with Captain America. He was the only one who would be able to help Sarge the way he needed it and right now, the both of them needed all the help they could get.

 **Thanks again for reading and I will hopefully be able to update a little sooner now. Leave me a review, please and thank you!**


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